


and then...there was only one bed

by The_Consulting_Werewolf



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Eventual Relationships, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mutual Pining, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, but not really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29563305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Consulting_Werewolf/pseuds/The_Consulting_Werewolf
Summary: Armin notices two things: one, the couch they are on is kind of small and a bit fancy; and two, there is only one bed.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 11
Kudos: 66





	and then...there was only one bed

**Author's Note:**

> totally inspired by this Tumblr post I saw eons ago. please enjoy my first Jearmin fanfic!

Armin swallows; he clutches tighter onto the straps of his backpack and looks up. The building only has seven floors and the apartment Armin needs to get to is on the fourth. It is just, the occupant of the room who is making Armin hesitate even stepping inside. Armin sighs, squeezing his eyes shut. His nails dig into the soft flesh of his palms and he takes another deep, deep breath. He can do this. 

He can go upstairs and spend the night with his best friend with whom he may or may not be in love with. Right?

Armin shakes his head and he knows some people on the pavement are glancing at him, probably thinking what he is doing here, rocking back and forth on his heels. He decides to just charge in. So, he does that, walking as fast as he can. He enters the elevator on autopilot and heads to the fourth floor. When he is finally standing in front of apartment 404, he is seized again by uncertainty. Why did he agree to this? He could have gone to a hotel or listened to Historia and agreed to stay with her (but he did not want to get between her and Ymir) but no, he agreed to Jean Kirstein’s suggestion and here he is. 

Armin raises his hand towards the doorbell but the door opens and Jean widens his eyes, gasping, “I thought you were lost!”

Armin blinks, “Huh?”

Jean presses his lips, “You said you were here seven minutes ago and it doesn’t take that long for the lift to move! So, I was about to go downstairs and look for you.”

Armin is touched with the concern, he really is and he fights the heat in his face as he mumbles, “No, I, uh,” he fumbles for a lie and his brain quickly supplies one, “The lift stopped at the second floor and also the third floor. I suppose someone pressed for the down button.”

Jean nods, “Makes sense.” He steps back and grins, “Now, welcome!”

Armin takes his shoes off at the entrance and pads into the open space. Jean rents this studio apartment and it is not too big, just of a comfortable, cosy size. Armin looks around and likes the warm lighting, the beige decor. It is clean and all the areas are neatly divided by screens or shelves. He hums, “This is nice.”

Jean bows, “Thank you!” He laughs, “Though, you have my father to thank for. Bastard finally did something good for me.”

Anyone else would be shocked at Jean calling his father a bastard but Armin has known Jean since middle school and he knows Jean’s father was largely absent from their lives, only making his presence known through gifts. And the college tuition. Armin asks, “Is he paying for this then?”

Jean nods, “Largely. I pay the electric and water bill from my part-time job. Can’t have him do everything.”

Armin puts down the backpack by a tub of monstera and shrugs, “Maybe he’s just trying to help, Jean.”

Jean rolls his eyes as he walks towards the kitchen. “As if.”

Armin scoffs and does not say anything. He has not seen Jean in almost a year. College took their circle of friends all over the country. Jean moved to Mitras (along with Historia and Ymir) for his education and Armin went to Karanes. Armin had to come to Mitras for a seminar and he thought he had his booking for a hostel but he realised later that the confirmation did not arrive, so he was suddenly without a place to tuck his head. In the group chat, when he aired his grievances, Historia and Jean immediately offered their rooms. But Armin knew Ymir too was home after a long stint overseas, so Armin said yes to Jean. 

Now, as he stands in Jean’s kitchen, watching the man heat up food and talk about his college and their friends, Armin realises Jean has changed so much in the seven months he has not laid eyes on him. Jean started growing taller and taller from the time he was sixteen and now at nineteen, he stands at six feet and two inches. He is also growing his hair out and it is kind of like a mullet and Armin supposes he would hate it on anyone else but on Jean, it only enhances his sharp, strong jawline and all those features Eren used to make fun of? Jean has grown into him and it has only made him more dangerously attractive. Armin bites the inside of his cheek and groans mentally. 

Jean runs a hand through his hair and Armin’s heart all but stops. Jean is only wearing a flimsy tank top and watching his biceps ripple like that almost has Armin swooning against the counter. Jean glances at Armin and smiles, “Sorry, don’t have anything much besides pasta.”

Armin smiles, “No, that’s okay. I’ll eat about anything now.”

Jean laughs, “Okay!” He points at a door opposite to the kitchen, “Bathroom’s there, you can go freshen up, or take a shower, I put up fresh towels.”

Armin nods and shuffles towards the bathroom with his backpack. The bathroom is small but Armin reckons it is probably bigger than his. He sighs in happiness when he sees the storage options in the bathroom—something his apartment seriously lacks. When he is fishing through his bag for his spare t-shirt, the anxious side of his personality raises its ugly head. He stops and tries to think: he put the t-shirt out on the bed, but did he put it in his bag? Did he? He widens his eyes when he realises he does not remember the act of picking up the t-shirt and putting it in his bag at all! He clutches his hair and panics. He will not sleep shirtless with Jean around! Sure, Jean has seen him without a shirt (or pants) plenty but this is different! This is not their school’s locker room or the swimming pool at Historia’s house!

He breathes deeply; he can always borrow one from Jean. He knows Jean would not mind. So, he cracks the door open and calls out, “Jean?”

“Yes?” The boy calls back.

“Do you have a spare shirt I can wear?”

“Sure!”

Armin hears doors closing and shutting and soon, Jean is dangling a faded band tee in front of him. Armin takes it and sheepishly says, “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Then, as Armin showers (borrowed Jean’s shower gel too and he feels bad how he keeps imposing), he thinks about Jean and their friendship over the years. If it were not for Eren and Jean getting into a fight in seventh grade, Armin would have never known him. Well, Armin knew him by sight and Marco, who was Jean’s only friend then, was Armin’s desk partner in Geography. But then, when Armin and Marco began working on their project, Armin and Jean were finally introduced to one another and they both realised the other was not so bad (Armin thought Jean must be a jerk and Jean though Armin must also be a jerk through association with Eren Jaeger). 

Armin smiles as he washes the suds out of his hair. Eren had thrown a fit when he learned of Armin and Jean’s friendship. But he had nothing to say or do about it. Armin was not sure when he and Jean got so close but it became obvious they had become as thick as thieves over the years. Jean knew Armin’s favourite Starbucks order and Armin knew the pizza toppings Jean did not like. Armin would help Jean with his studies and Jean would remind Armin that he could do anything he put his mind to. 

Armin steps out of the shower and puts on his shorts and then the t-shirt he got from Jean. As he puts it on, he laughs to himself at how ridiculously big Jean’s t-shirt is. His shorts have disappeared! He grabs a clean towel and leaves the bathroom, rubbing his hair. Jean turns around and his gaze falls on Armin’s legs and he does not notice the way Jean’s breath catches or how red he flushes at the way the big t-shirt hides the shorts.

Armin joins Jean in the kitchen and sniffs the air, grinning widely, “Ah, is it missus Kirstein’s famous spaghetti? It has been so long!”

Jean chuckles and plates the steaming pasta in bowls. “Yep, you’re right.”

They take the food and their drinks to the living room area and sit down on the rug with the bowls on the coffee table. Jean feels bad about not having a proper table but Armin waves it off, “But this brings us right back, doesn’t it? We’d eat on the floor and your mom would scold us.”

Jean laughs, “All the stains she had to clean from the rug!”

Armin winks, “It was mostly you!” He swirls his fork in the spaghetti and says, “I’m a clean eater.”

Jean rolls his eyes but does not add to Armin’s ego. They eat and talk some more. Jean nearly chokes when Armin tells him about Levi and Erwin Smith, their previous teachers. Jean coughs, “They are dating now?”

Armin laughs, “Yes!”

Jean adds, “Remember how their sexual tension would nearly kill us?”

Armin laughs, “They finally bit the bullet right after you left. Remember our junior, Niles?” Jean nods. “He saw them making out!”

Jean groans, “Poor kid. He will need bleach and counselling.”

They both laugh at the memory of their two teachers. Levi Ackermann taught them maths while Erwin Smith taught them history and everyone in the town could tell they had the hots for each other but them. Armin then recalls how their other teacher Hange Zoe told everyone how she was the one who caused it, setting them up on a blind date. Jean chokes on his water and laughs, “She wasn’t the smartest person in the town for nothing!”

Despite Jean arguing, Armin helps with cleaning up and then they plop down on the couch and put on some movie as they talk some more, catching up on their lives in college. Jean had opened a whole new pack of cranberry chocolate (Armin’s favourite). Jean licks his thumb as he asks, “So, how many friends did you make?”

Armin rolls his eyes. He knows it is hard for him to make friends but he _did_ make two. He says, “I met two people who are nice, Jaime and Kiernan.”

Jean wiggles his eyebrows, “Jaime? A dude or a girl?”

Armin knows where this is going, so he groans, “Jean!”

“So, a dude,” Jean says, “Is he cute?”

Armin shoves Jean and murmurs, “Shut up, I don’t see him like that.”

“Why?” Jean asks. “You have been single since, like, what, you were thirteen?”

Armin feels his heart thumping. There was a reason why he never became interested in anyone. He always had his heart set on one person. He looks down at his lap and mumbles, “I like being single.”

Jean rolls his eyes, “Okay, fine!”

Armin changes the topic to their courses and learns that Jean is enjoying his visual arts classes a lot. Armin likes the way Jean’s face lights up as he talks about all the new things and techniques he is learning in college. Armin feels pride and love swell in his chest and wishes he could lean forward, cup Jean’s cheeks and kiss his nose. 

The night deepens and they both do not notice when the streets go quiet. It is only when Armin yawns that Jean notes the time, “Oh god, it’s nearly one in the morning!”

Armin, too, is amazed at how the time simply went by. He rubs his eyes, “Oh shit, we should sleep.” And that’s when Armin notices two things: one, the couch they are on is kind of small and a bit fancy; and two, there is only one bed.

Jean, perhaps, also thinks the same as he says, “Sorry but we have to share my bed. It’s big enough for two!”

Armin’s heart thuds loud and hard in his chest. Usually, during sleepovers, Mrs Kirstein would roll out a spare mattress for them. But back in Jean’s house, his bed was _small_. Armin eyes the bed and to his dismay, it is big enough for two, so Armin has no excuse. He smiles, “Sure, no problem.”

Jean flushes a little and excuses himself to the bathroom. The bed was already done, so Armin gingerly walks towards it and sits down. The mattress is soft and the sheets smell nice, like pine trees. Armin knows Jean likes sleeping by the wall, so he lies down on the edge. He digs his nose into the pillow and he likes how they smell like pine trees and Jean’s shampoo. The bathroom door opens and Armin immediately feels all his muscles tensing. He closes his eyes and he hears Jean turning all the lights off. Armin opens his eyes only a smidgen and sees the way the lights from the outside spill into this room. Jean expertly manoeuvres his way through the dark and the bed dips, Armin’s heart, too, swan dives down to his stomach. 

Jean mutters, “Good night, Armin.”

“Night,” Armin says. His heart thrashes wildly but he holds his position, his back to Jean, so he totally misses the enamoured way Jean looks at the back of his head.

Armin is the first to wake and he shifts a little, snuggling into something that feels warm and smells wonderful. Then, Armin’s brain catches up and he opens his eyes fully. And that is when his stomach swoops and the skin on his back prickles. He is pressed right against Jean, his head tucked under Jean’s chin and his arm around Jean’s waist. But what really astounds him is the fact that Jean too has his arm around Armin. How did this even happen? Armin had put considerable distance between himself and Jean last night!

Armin tries to move back a little but then, adding more to his surprise, Jean tightens his arm and pushes Armin even closer to himself. Armin’s brain whirls, trying to think the best way to extradite himself. Though, he wishes he did not have to. After all, it does feel nice. Jean is firm and warm and Armin loves it. But Jean! He probably thinks he is merely hugging a pillow and not a human being!

Armin tries again but Jean simply throws his leg on Armin instead and mumbles, “Stop, this nice.”

Armin halts; did Jean say that or did he just imagine it? Armin tilts his head back and finds Jean peering down at him, his amber eyes sleepy but not displeased. Armin swallows, “Huh?”

Jean smiles, “I always wanted to hold you like this, sad you wouldn’t join me on the bed back in my house.”

Armin repeats himself, “Huh?”

Jean is the one who unwraps himself first and Armin notes how red Jean is, from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. Armin, too, sits up. Jean slides down the bed and rummages through a box under the bed. Armin widens his eyes when he sees Jean pulling out a sketchbook. But it is not an ordinary sketchbook. It is the blue moleskin blue A5 sketchbook that Armin was never allowed to see. Not even Marco saw its contents. Jean hands it to Armin and says, “Just, don’t be creeped out. My art was the only way I could express my feelings.”

Armin is confused but he takes the sketchbook. And then he opens it. He keeps flipping through it and his mouth drops. There are just pages and pages and pages _and pages_ of drawings of him! There are drawings of Armin when he had his long fringe, there are drawings of the few months Armin tied his blond hair into a ponytail in tenth grade and lastly, there are drawings of him in his shorter hair, some copied directly from his Instagram updates. He looks up at Jean and Jean is looking everywhere but at him, his face still red. Armin’s voice shakes when he asks, “Jean, what is the meaning of this?”

Jean coughs, “What do you think Armin? You’ve always been smarter than me.” He laughs and scratches his nape. “Damn you, Eren! He told me to man up and do it but I think it was stupid of me to listen to him.”

Armin frowns as he still tries to accept the only conclusion there can be. “Eren?”

Jean touches the sketchbook and murmurs, “The bastard knew I liked you, has always known it. He told me to take my chance with you here, kept saying how chummy you were getting with this Jaime person.”

Armin laughs out loud at Eren's preposterous opinion. He feels tears prickling behind his eyes as he says, “Eren’s an idiot!”

Jean widens his eyes and when Armin sees hope in them, Armin accepts it. He cups Jean’s neck and says, “Jean, I don’t like Jaime. I could never like him because there’s only one person who has all of my heart and,” Armin’s voice drops to a whisper, “And it’s you. It's always been you.”

It is not sure who moved first but suddenly, their lips on each other and the kiss is messy and their noses knock but they laugh and Jean tilts his head and the kiss is perfect and it is all new but Armin cannot complain. He has waited so long for this. And Jean has too. When they break for air, they press their foreheads and Armin thinks the happiness in his heart can rival the sunlight spilling into the room easily.

**Some months later**

Jean smiles when he finds Armin on the couch, phone in hand, smiling at something. Armin decided to come see Jean again and even though long-distance is difficult, it is still a blessing they are roughly half a day away from each other by train. Jean spent one long weekend at Armin’s place two months ago and this time, when another long weekend rolled around, Armin showed up, surprising Jean. 

Armin looks up and finds Jean staring at him and he blushes, “What?”

Jean sits down beside him and puts down the tray of corn chips and dips on the coffee table. He kisses Armin’s neck and says, “You’re so cute.”

Armin groans, “If I knew I would unlock the cheesy side of you when I agreed to be your boyfriend, I would’ve never said yes.”

Jean laughs, “Too late Arlert!”

Armin shakes his head but Jean does not miss the fond look in his blue eyes. Armin lightly brushes his lips against Jean’s and murmurs, “You’re incorrigible.”

Jean holds his head and groans, “Ah, Arlert used big words, my brain might explode!” Armin laughs out loud and lightly shoves him, Jean pulls him in his embrace and kisses him soundly on his lips. They settle back on the couch and Armin picks up a chip and his phone too. Jean asks, “Why were you smiling at your phone though? Did Sasha send another meme to the group chat?”

Armin shakes his head. “Actually, no. Kiernan sent me a Harry Potter fanfiction and the trope in it made me smile.”

Jean says, “Oh? What trope?”

Armin smiles and there is something sly about it, “It’s the there-was-only-one-bed trope! I mean, that trope literally got us together!”

Jean laughs but his heart pounds. Maybe, he should finally tell Armin the truth. He says, “Hey, Armin?” Armin hums. “I, uh, I don’t have one bed.”

Armin frowns, looking across the floor and pointing at the bed, “Uh, what?”

Jean sighs and gets up. He gestures at Armin to do the same and when the other follows, Jean crouches and then, to Armin’s absolute shock, Jean shows him that the couch he thought was just a couch is actually a pull-out sofa bed! Armin gapes at Jean and says, “You staged the one-bed trope!”

Jean chuckles, rubbing his nape, “Yes?”

Armin is still struggling to find words. He looks at the sofa bed and then back at the bed and then at Jean. He murmurs, “Oh my god...this is unbelievable.”

Jean feels his face heating up, “You aren’t mad at me, are you?”

Armin closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. A big smile blooms across his face and he shakes his head. Jean sees the exasperation, but also the affection in Armin’s eyes, which are positively twinkling. Armin throws his arms around Jean and says, “Who knew you could be this clever?”

Jean snorts, half in relief and half offended. He puts his arms around Armin and says, “Really, Arlert? Put a little trust in your boyfriend, yeah?”

Armin chuckles but does not stop Jean when he leans down to kiss him. A trope turned on its head led to this—who would have thought? 


End file.
